The present invention relates to a monolithic semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same. Herein the term monolithic means that the device has a single substrate.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a monolithic semiconductor device comprising a substrate, a layer of photoconductive material formed on the substrate, a transparent insulator formed on the photoconductive material and a layer of material which emits light when electrically stimulated, said layer of light emitting material being formed on the transparent insulator.
Preferably the light emitting layer is an organic electro-luminescent material such as a light emitting polymer.
Beneficially the device is structured and arranged also to act as a display.
The present invention also provides a neural network comprising a plurality of the semiconductor devices of the invention.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a monolithic semiconductor device comprising the steps of providing a substrate, forming a layer of photoconductive material on the substrate, forming a transparent insulator on the photoconductive material, and forming on the transparent insulator a layer of material which emits light when electrically stimulated.
Preferably, the method involves the use of TFT techniques.
Beneficially, the method further comprises the step of formation of a plurality of TFTs on the substrate, said TFTs being respectively connected to the photoconductive and light emitting layers.